


little league (never felt so sweet)

by tooshyforthis



Series: good girls ficlets [2]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, F/M, Fluff, Meet-Cute, POV Beth Boland
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22754041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tooshyforthis/pseuds/tooshyforthis
Summary: When she hears what has to be the third “I swear, I just lost track of time, Bethie, I’m so sorry” from Dean, Beth takes it as her cue to disconnect the call, turning back around to her car, mind already full of all the logistics of traffic and excuses for Jane – maybe if she takes her out for ice cream, she’ll be too hyped up to notice it should be daddy picking her up. Even driving as fast as the speed limit allows – because she’s never gotten a ticket before and is not about to start now, not to cover for Dean’s lying ass –, when she finally reaches the field, she’s still 15 minutes late.__No crime AU where Beth and Dean are divorced and Beth and Rio meet after Little League practice.
Relationships: Beth Boland & Jane Boland, Beth Boland/Rio, Jane Boland & Marcus, Marcus & Rio (Good Girls)
Series: good girls ficlets [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984082
Comments: 24
Kudos: 203





	little league (never felt so sweet)

Of course Dean would do this to her. Of _fucking_ course.

Honestly, Beth shouldn’t even be surprised at this point. After all, this _is_ the man who repeatedly cheated on her, lied about having cancer and then refused to help her break the news of their impending divorce to the kids, leaving her alone to look at those sweet little faces and explain that _“mommy and daddy aren’t together anymore”_ and _“no, of course we still love you guys, so much”_. So, agreeing to go pick up his new too-young girlfriend from across town and forgetting that the person he _should_ be picking up is Jane from Little League practice is just par for the fucking course, really. Doesn’t mean she can’t still be angry about it, though.

When she hears what has to be the third _“I swear, I just lost track of time, Bethie, I’m so sorry”_ from Dean, Beth takes it as her cue to disconnect the call, turning back around to her car, mind already full of all the logistics of traffic and excuses for Jane – maybe if she takes her out for ice cream, she’ll be too hyped up to notice it should be _daddy_ picking her up. Even driving as fast as the speed limit allows – because she’s never gotten a ticket before and is not about to start now, not to cover for Dean’s lying ass –, when she finally reaches the field, she’s still 15 minutes late.

Killing the ignition, Beth takes a moment to just close her eyes and take a deep breath, prepares herself for the humiliation of being one of the _late parents_ , the ones who don’t care. And then she gets out of her car, making sure it’s locked, and walks into the building in front of her, shoulders back and head held high.

The building is made up of the locker rooms and a little reception area – if it can even be called that, seeing as it’s only 4 plastic, uncomfortable-looking chairs and one big old desk, behind which Beth can barely see the head of a pretty young blonde. She can’t help but wonder if maybe _that’s_ the reason Dean insisted so much that this was the best club to switch Jane to, young blondes _were_ his preferred type nowadays – but then again, it doesn’t really matter.

As Beth approaches the desk, the girl rises, stepping out from behind it. She was expecting business casual, maybe a cute pencil skirt, but instead the girl is in a muddy baseball uniform.

Beth puts on her sweetest, fakest smile – the one that screams ditzy housewife, the one Dean loves and she hates –, and reaches out her hand for a handshake. “Hi. I’m Beth, Jane Boland’s mom.”

“Hey! I’m Tara, one of the assistant coaches. It’s so nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Boland! Jane is a great kid!” The “Mrs. Boland” stings a little, seems almost cruel, but everything else convinces her that it’s not meant to be - the whole time she talks, Tara is vigorously shaking her hand, a bubbly smile lighting up her face. She seems to realise it just as she stops talking, too – her smile drops, her face flushes pink and she drops Beth’s hand like it’s burning her own.

Beth’s smile turns a little less fake, reassuring – between the uniform, the blush and the bubbly personality, it’s quite clear Tara is just a sweet kid, can’t be much older than 18. The smile doesn’t seem to help, though, just makes Tara blush harder. Beth continues. “I’m so sorry I’m late for pickup, I got held up doing something.”

It’s not her best lie, and Beth’s not proud of it, but she hadn’t really stopped to think what explanation she’d give anyone except for Jane, and it’s not like Tara seems to mind the obvious lie, she just smiles and reassures her that it’s no problem.

Just as Beth opens her mouth to apologise again, Tara interrupts. “Really, it’s ok! Usually, I’d stay behind with any kid whose parent was late for pickup, but another parent offered to do it, since your kids were getting along so well!”

That makes the smile drop from Beth’s face because _ugh, of course, that’s just her luck_. She knows what “another parent” means – it means one of the other white suburban soccer moms, one of the ones Dean was fucking while she was pregnant with Jane. She’s sure whoever it is – and it’s probably Janine, she’s sure of it, _that fucking asshole_ – decided to stick around only for the pleasure of Beth having to play nice and thank _them_ instead. But it’s fine, she won’t let it get to her. She grinds her teeth and quickly pastes that stupid smile back on, noticing Tara’s worried face.

“Well, that is very nice of them.” Tara seems to agree, nodding, ready to speak again, but Beth doesn’t give her the opportunity. “I should probably go get my kid.” The smile is still sickly-sweet on her face, but the tone is biting. Tara’s whole face drops at it, making Beth feel guilty – it’s not this poor girl’s fault, after all. She does her best to soften it when she speaks again, patting the girl’s arm, reassuring. “Thank you so much, _really_.”

When Tara smiles again, Beth takes it as her cue to leave, walking towards the big glass doors that give access to the field, psyching herself up to repeat this whole dance but with _fucking Janine_.

Except when she reaches the edge of the field, it’s not Janine she sees. Instead, it’s Jane running around and doing cartwheels with a little boy, her baby girl’s laughter ringing out and reaching Beth’s ears. Jane had been the one who took the news of the divorce the easiest, with a cry for double the presents and not much else. Still, it had been impossible not to notice that even though she hadn’t become moody like Kenny or extra-needy like Emma and Danny, Jane had been a little less vibrant lately. So, this is – it’s everything, seeing her little girl so happy and free and _loud_ ; gives her a little bit more hope that the others will be okay too.

She’s so focused on her little girl that she doesn’t even notice someone approaching her. The mumbled _“So I take it you’re Jane’s mom, yeah?”_ from her left gives her such a fright that she lets out a little scream and drops her handbag, hands flailing.

The man standing next to her seems to find it amusing, because while she’s trying to regain her breathing and calm down her racing heart, he’s laughing. Once she’s calmed down, Beth picks up her handbag and turns back around to the kids, who have stopped playing to look at them. A small wave from her is all it takes for them to be reassured everything’s fine and begin a very loud game of tag.

She turns back around to the stranger and primly clears her throat. “It’s really not that funny.”

The smirk on his face widens, almost turns into a real smile. “Sure it is, ma.” The indignant look on her face only hardens at his response, but that doesn’t seem to stop him from sending an appraising look her way. The way his gaze drags over her curves, bottom lip caught between his teeth – it’s all so _obvious_ that it makes her blush, which only seems to amuse him more.

Then he gives a little nod, more for himself than for her. “What, I look scary to you? You one of _those_ white ladies?” She knows he’s probably just testing the limits, seeing how uncomfortable he can make her, but it still makes her splutter, waving her hands in front of her. “I – no, of course – it’s not – it’s not that at all, you just surprised me!”

That makes him laugh again, head thrown back and shoulders shaking with the force of it. This time, Beth takes a moment to look at him, to appreciate the dark lines on his throat and the way his face seems so open like this. And then she laughs too, because _yeah, it is funny when she really thinks about it_.

Once the laughter has subsided, the man turns to look directly at her, eyebrows raised. “So, are ya?”

Beth shakes her head, confusion evident on her face. “What? One of those white ladies?”

That makes him chuckle again, shake his head like he can’t believe her. “Nah. You Jane’s mom?”

A soft _“Oh.”_ leaves her lips as she finally understands what he’d said before. Then she regains her composure and puts on a smile, extends her hand for a handshake. “Yes, I am _that_. Beth. Nice to meet you.”

The handshake is firm and quick, can’t last more than a couple of seconds before he’s shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket, nodding again. “Rio.” He tilts his head toward the field, where the kids are still running around. “Marcus’s dad.”

“Oh. That’s Marcus?” He tilts his head in confirmation, amusement clear in his eyes. “Jane loves him! I’ve been meaning to setup a playdate, but Dean is usually the one who picks her up from practice and he always forgets to do it.”

His lips purse for a second, in thought. “Dean. He that goofy-looking guy? Always wearing khakis?”

That surprises a laugh out of her. “Well, I think that can describe basically every other dad, but yes, that’s Dean.”

He hums, a soft noise at the base of his throat. “Right, right. Well, he ain’t here. So we can set it up.”

That makes her smile widen, already imagining Dean’s reaction when she tells him she set up a playdate for him to take Jane to, especially when he’d seemed so reluctant to do it. “Yes, _we can_! Are you free next week after practice? I’m sure I can convince Dean.”

“Nah. Marcus has his cousin’s birthday party.” Her face falls a little at that, but she quickly bounces back, making another suggestion.

“Well, how about Sunday instead?”

He hums, brows furrowed in thought. “That could work. But I don’t really feel like hanging out with khakis-man.”

“Uh – well, I – hum – well, he usually has the kids on the weekend, so...”

He smirks at her stuttering. “I’m sure a little weasel like him wouldn’t mind having you take your kid to a playdate, though, yeah?”

She chuckles. “No, he wouldn’t.” His smirk widens into a grin at her response.

“So… do that. He’ll probably be grateful and shit.” His eyes become hooded, glancing over her, as he bites at his lower lip. “And we could have fun.”

That makes her blush, cheeks heating at the implication. “Khakis-man doesn’t strike me as the type to actually play with the kids.” _Oh_ , of course he’d meant _that_. And, _well_ , it’s not a wrong assumption – Dean was game for 5 minutes or so, but after that he’d sit down and chat up the moms; Beth was the one who preferred playing with the kids, avoiding at all costs the mindless conversations about the newest miracle diet.

Beth shakes her head and clears her throat, doing her best to ignore the smirk he’s sending her way, clearly having picked up on what she’d thought he’d meant. “I’m sure I can find a fun activity for the kids to do.”

“Cool. So gimme your phone number and I’ll text you to set it up.”

He’s already taking his phone out of his back pocket and opening it on his contacts page, when she starts talking, her tone filled with confusion. “I mean, we can just do it _now_.”

He shakes his head, offering up his phone to her. “Nah, we’re already late. Need to get going.”

“Oh, of course.” She takes his phone, quickly adding her phone number under “Jane’s mom” and returning it. “I’m so sorry I made you late.”

He pockets his phone again, shaking his head. “Nah, don’t be, ‘s no problem.” Then he turns back to the field. “Hey, pop!” Marcus stops running, turning to look at them. “We gotta go, c’mon.”

Marcus seems like he’s about to protest, but Rio interrupts “Nah, you already got 30 more minutes of playtime with your friend, it’s time to go.”

She takes her cue to call Jane. “Yes, honey, we should go too.”

Both kids come running, barrelling into their respective parent’s legs and begging for just 5 more minutes. “Honey, Mr. Rio is already late.” Jane pouts and Beth pats her in the head, smiling. ”But the 2 of you can play more some other day, okay?”

The pout only grows. “ _Promise_?” Beth laughs. “Yes, I promise. Now say goodbye to your friend and go pick up your bag so we can go get ice cream.”

Jane disentangles herself, grinning, shouts a “’Bye, Marcus!” and takes off running for the bleachers, Marcus’ echoing goodbye largely ignored. Beth turns to Rio, who’s now holding a smiling Marcus upside down. “Thank you so much, again.”

Rio turns to look at her, smile still in place. “Don’t stress it, ma. Now, Marcus, say goodbye to Ms. Elizabeth.”

Marcus throws a “’Bye, Ms. ‘Lizbeth.” her way, full toothy grin on display. When he begins to squirm, Rio puts him down. Then, holding Marcus’s hand in one hand and his backpack in the other, he nods her way, mumbling a soft _“Elizabeth”_ , and leaves.

Beth smiles, turning back towards the bleachers. Jane is running back towards her, backpack slung over her shoulder. “I’m ready for ice cream!”

Beth wrinkles her brows and pouts in exaggerated confusion. “Ice cream? Who said anything about ice cream?”

Jane’s grin widens. “You did, mommy!”

“No, that doesn’t seem right. I don’t think I’d forget about _ice cream_.” Beth makes a shocked face, eyes wide open.

“But you did! You said we’d get ice cream!”

“Well, if you say so, then I’ll believe you.”

“I do!” Jane giggles, pleased, and Beth finally breaks character, smiling softly, so happy to see her like this. “Let’s get ice cream, then.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!!  
> this is un-beta'd so if there's any mistakes, that's all on me, sorry  
> (also, i know nothing about little league, just fyi)


End file.
